1. Technical Field
The technology presented herein relates to an information processing technique for superimposing a virtual object image on a real space to perform a display, and more particularly to an information processing technique for correcting a deviation, in display position of a virtual object, which is caused due to an error in detection of a marker in a photographed image, and for performing a corrected display.
2. Description of the Background Art
A so-called augmented reality system is realized which displays an image in which a virtual object image is superimposed on a real world (a real space or a real environment) as if an object exists in a virtual space. The augmented reality system provides a technique for displaying a virtual object in a real world, without causing unnaturalness, by, for example, superimposing a previously generated image of the virtual object on a real space photographed by a camera. Non-patent Document 1 (Hirokazu Kato and Mark Billinghurst, “Marker Tracking and HMD Calibration for a Video-based Augmented Reality Conferencing System”, 1999) discloses a technique, associated with such an augmented reality system, for detecting a marker in an image photographed by a camera, and for displaying a virtual object at a position corresponding to the marker based on the information of the detected marker.
When the marker is detected based on an image photographed by a camera, an accuracy for detecting the maker may not be stabilized depending on, for example, a degree to which the marker is illuminated, thereby causing an error in marker detection. When the marker detection result including such an error is used, a position at which a virtual object image is to be displayed may be deviated. However, such a problem cannot be solved by the technique disclosed in Non-patent Document 1. Therefore, it is impossible to realize a natural augmented reality effect that a display is made as if a virtual object exists in a real world.